Robot development has evolved quite a lot lately, more and more advanced robots entering all fields of interest and knowledge. However, there are still important aspects that need to be taken into consideration so as to make robots react more like humans towards human behavior.

Engineers are now teaching robots social tricks used by humans and even chimps, so that they can mingle freely with humans. Some of the robots using such strategies were presented at the Science Museum in London last week, in a “robot nursery.”

 

Lola Canamero from the University of Hertfordshire brought along humanoid and dog robots that develop unique personalities when they interact with humans. Canamero's team is working with an emotional robotic head called Erwin, which communicates using basic facial expressions. The researchers are investigating how this robot is accepted by humans and plan to combine what they learn with results from the nursery to develop robots able to live alongside humans as caregivers or pets.

 

Another robot on display, BERTI, is renowned for its ability to play Rock, Paper, Scissors with people. This anthropomorphic robot was created by the researchers from Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) and UK robotics company Elumotion. With hands and fingers capable of very intricate gestures, BERTI demonstrates the kind of smooth gestures that could help future humanoid robots fit in with humans.

 

An important part of human interaction with a robot is, for the human, that they have a feeling of engagement with an intelligent agent; one way this might be achieved is a robot that uses gestures, as well as speech. Gestures are an integral part of human communication, not only for semantic content but also for evidence of speaker thought processes and engagement of the conversational partner. Of particular interest is how the gestures affect a person’s interactions with, and feelings towards the robot. BERTI is one of the robots that will help researchers investigate human behavior towards robots.

 

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